The base 6-speed manual Cruze Diesel comes in at the same 37-mpg combined rating, but its city rating is lower at 30 mpg, and the highway rating is even higher, at 52 mpg.

Over 60 miles of mixed urban and parkway driving, the manual Cruze Diesel gave us a reading of 36.1 mpg—essentially matching its combined rating.

2017 Chevrolet Cruze 4-door Sedan 1.4L Premier w/1SF Dashboard

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Our experience over 280 miles in the automatic version underscores the widespread evidence that under many circumstances, diesel cars can significantly outperform their fuel-economy ratings.

We liked our time in both cars, although we note that the higher cost of a diesel powertrain with modern emission aftertreatment gear has led Chevy to cut a number of features out of compact sedans that stickered above $26,000 and just below $30,000 respectively.

Our automatic test Cruze Diesel, at $29,655, had a sunroof, but omitted automatic climate control, power adjustment for the front passenger seat, and even an automatic-up feature for the driver’s window.

CHECK OUT: 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel sedan rated at 37 mpg combined

On the road, each of the two Cruze Diesels had satisfying elements and a small number of quirks.

We spent more time in the automatic version, which is fitted with a 9-speed automatic that shifts fairly frequently to match the diesel’s limited rev band.

It also comes with start-stop as standard, which kept the engine off up to 90 seconds at a time and started up quickly and fairly smoothly, considering the high compression ratio it had to overcome.